


Shattered Reality

by Yoru_Lun



Category: Sword Art Online
Genre: And played SAO Integral Factor, Because FTW, Culture Mix, Gen, It gave me backstory on what happened from POV of side characters, Like I would have written it years ago but got lazy, Like that thing had potential, Malaysia specifically, Original Player Characters, Other than being a setting for a guy's harem, Since OCs are from Southeast Asia, So I rewatched SAO, So yeah, This fic is long time coming, This is basically me exploring Aincard, Though I replaced Koharu with a little brother character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-08-06 13:23:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16388516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yoru_Lun/pseuds/Yoru_Lun
Summary: They were only here to have good time, to make up for all the time they had missed out ever since she got admitted into university.What kind of fucked up irony was this?They were only supposed to be playing for a couple of hours to test it out. They didn’t mean to be trapped in a game where the only way out was completing it or die trying.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I rewatched SAO yet again and played SAO Integral Factors, that game had me itching to write a SAO fanfic and so here we are. Though I'm replacing Koharu (Your partner in the game) with another OC, Aliff or Lif, her brother.
> 
> Their real names are Ainul Mardhiah Binti Yakob and Aliff Aiman Bin Yakob. 
> 
> Naming custom is where the first two is their own name, Binti & Bin is a gender label where Binti means Ainul is the daughter of Yakob while Bin is Aliff being the son of Yakob, Yakob is their dad's name.
> 
> Ainul's Player ID is Lunia since well, she never thought she would be trapped in the game and was lazy with names when making it.  
> Allif's ID is Franco, though Ainul will still call him as Lif. 
> 
> Though to follow with Anime setting, they both will be addressed as their player ID by other people.
> 
> Ainul is 21 while Lif is 13

Ainul wondered once again why she had given into Lif’s pleading in the first place. Oh right, his puppy eyes.

She didn’t even manage to argue with him over it before he pulled out the trump card. And being the doting sister she was, she folded in like wet tissue when faced by the full force of her little brother’s begging.

So with a put upon sigh, she put on the Nerve Gear helmet to join him in the new VRMMORPG called Sword Art Online.

Going through the process of basically recreating how she looked was an off-putting experience, especially when she can feel the change as if it was real. So she just resorted to keeping her appearance as it is and merely changing the colour of her eyes to a deep garnet since she always thought having red eyes to be neat.

Much to Lif’s chagrin, who had increased his height by leap and bound to tower over her and a shock of electric blue hair along with mischievous amethyst eyes. That was very much unnerving to see her midget of a brother who barely reached her chest in real life to loom over her like that.

The world that greeted her when she opened her eyes was simply surreal. Everything was so bright and vivid. It was the first time she could see things clearly without the help of her glasses and thought that she could get used to it.

Ainul had allowed for herself to be guided by Lif on how the game worked, humouring him all the way because she didn’t have the heart to say no at the face of his unbridled enthusiasm. She knew he was one of the betas for this game before its official release but he had surprised her by buying another set just so that she can join him too.

Playing game together had always been their method of bonding, much to their parents’ irritation because the two of them could spend hours in front of the screen and not be doing the chores they were supposed to do.

But ever since she got accepted into University, they rarely ever have time to play together anymore, what with Ainul’s busy schedule and pilling assignment. Other than the prearranged time for MMORPG, they barely ever played together anymore.

So that was why Ainul had let herself be convinced by her little brother to play the new VRMMORPG when she came home for the holiday.

And it was a decision that she would later both regret and glad that she had made.

Because in the blink of an eye, the world of fantasy they found themselves in soon turned into horror.

It all started when they couldn’t log out.

Ainul had set a time limit of two hours for exploring the game before they log out because she wanted to surprise their parents of her return with a nice dinner already prepared.

But when she flicked on the menu for the log out button, she couldn’t find any. The slot where it was supposed to be was blank.

Lif’s was the same too and the two of them had puzzled over it for a while before he decided to call the game master. The call went unanswered as they were forcefully teleported toward the plaza.

The teleportation was disorienting and if she hadn’t been holding tight to Lif’s hand during it, she would have lost him to the crowd of spooked players that filled the plaza. She pulled him close despite his protest because something about this doesn’t seem right to her.

What kind of game wouldn’t allow a player to log out? Especially during its first launch day.

And her apprehension was proven true when red hexagons filled the sky, staining it with an ominous feeling that sat heavy in her stomach. Her grip on Lif’s hand only tightened further when red blob slipped in between the cracks of the hexagon, pooling together to form the hooded figure of what she assumed was the Game Master.

The announcement made by the GM who claimed to be Kayaba Akihiko was not helping her feeling of dread because what kind of fucked up game would make the inability to log out from the game as a feature of it. It was sounding more and more like the plot of some bad sci-fi movie.

“What is happening?” Lif whispered to her in hushed voice as he hunched over her.

“I don’t know.” She whispered back as she gathered him into a tight hug.

Because she really don’t know what was happening.

The event happening after that was pure madness as every player was forcefully reverted back to their original appearance. While it was comforting to see the familiar face of her little brother amidst the sea of panicking people, the fear in his eyes make Ainul pull him closer, hiding her own face in his once again black hair.

“Oh God…” She gasped out, unspeakable fear gripping her heart tight.

Why did this happen?

They were only here to have good time, to make up for all the time they had missed out ever since she got admitted into university.

What kind of fucked up irony was this?

They were only supposed to be playing for a couple of hours to test it out. They didn’t mean to be trapped in a game where the only way out was completing it or die trying.

Remembering the man’s words on how having the Nerve Gear removed from them would end up with their death, Ainul could only wish for once in their life, her parents wouldn’t forcefully remove the game from them.

It wouldn’t be the first time her parents would turn off the power in sheer exasperation at how consumed the two of them were with game but let this be the exception.

Please God.

Let this be the one time their parents would leave them be and heed the warning of the man who trapped them in this hell.

Ainul doesn’t know how long they had been sitting on the pavement, holding each other close in sheer desperation and fear of losing the other but she was pulled back to the reality (this new **_fucked up_** reality) by someone shaking her shoulder.

She looked up to the person who had shaken her and saw that it was the same red haired man who had joined them during Lif’s impromptu tutorial session but the black haired youth who had been with him was not there anymore. Sure he looked different with short hair and a more scruffy beard that looked unkempt but his demeanour were all the same. Besides, his clothes were the same.

“Klein…?” She said his name, quickly wiping away her own tears (Tears. She would have marvelled over such fine details but oh God- **_they’re trapped_** ) because letting strangers see her tears never sit well with her.

“Are you okay, Lunia?” It took her a moment for her to process the fact that Klein was calling her by her player ID and while she knew how uncreative of her to just simply flip her name over, she hadn’t been meaning to play this game forever.

Now she would be stuck with that name for how long it would take to clear this game.

“Depends on how you deems okay.” She knew her irritation was uncalled for, especially when the man was merely expressing his concern over her but she couldn’t help it. Everything was finally coming down on her and the fact that she and her brother were trapped in a death game weighed heavy on her mind.

She can’t even imagine what would have happened if she hadn’t given into Lif’s insistent begging. Her thirteen years old brother would have been trapped in this godforsaken world all by himself and Ainul could have accidentally killed him when she finally go to wake him up from the game.

That particular dark thought was quickly pushed to the back of her mind because now was not the time to think about the ‘what if’s.

“Sorry…” She apologized because no matter how stressful the day had been, it doesn’t give her the right to be an asshole to someone who was also in the same place as her.

“Don’t sweat it.” Klein waved it off good-naturedly and Ainul couldn’t help but feel grateful for his easy-going personality. It helped numb some of the shock and hysteria bubbling at the back of her mind.

“You need help with that?” He offered instead, motioning toward the unconscious form of Lif in her arms. While Lif had grown too big for her to carry with ease anymore, the thought of letting him go, even if it was only to be carried by someone else, caused the fear in her gut come back full force.

It felt too much like he would disappear into particles like the boar they had slain previously.

“I…I can handle it. Thanks anyway.”

Ainul expected to struggle with his weight but apparently such thing wasn’t taken into consideration during the initial creation of this game. Besides, the accursed Nerve Gear wouldn’t be able to collect that particular data because it wasn’t included in the calibration they have to do before beginning the game.

So she held him close, the only piece of her shattered reality that she still have left.

“What do we do now?”

Ainul turned toward him in askance because she herself doesn’t know what she have to do now with the death sentence hanging over their head.

A single misstep and only death awaits.

“For now, we rest.”

She blinked, not expecting that but Klein soon explained it further.

“It had been a stressful day for everyone. We can talk more after we all have a good rest.”

It took her a moment to realise that he had led her to the inn and sure enough, looking around, he was not the only one who was leading shell-shocked players to the inn. Her heart clenched at the sight of children younger than her own brother crying out for their parents but her priority lies with her brother now.

She doesn’t want to leave him, especially when he’s unconscious like this.

“Thanks Klein.”

This time, her gratitude was genuine.

If he hadn’t approached her like he did, she would have stayed rooted at the plaza, still in shock over what had happened. Now with Lif unconscious, she would have the time to sort over this herself and to come to term with it before her brother could awake so that she can help him through his own hysteric.

She knew Lif would be blaming himself for dragging her into this but Ainul can’t have that. She wouldn’t allow for her brother to blame himself over something he has no control over.

It was not his fault the creator of this game went off his rocker and decided to turn this into a death game.

“No problem. See you tomorrow, Lunia.”

“Yeah. Night Klein,”

He smiled and Ainul tried to return it despite how it would have looked more like a grimace on her face. She watched him walk away, no doubt going off to help the next poor person who were still trapped in their own shock.

Ainul went to the NPC who manned the inn and booked a room for Lif and herself. While Lif would later grumble about how he was big enough to sleep on his own, Ainul needed the comfort of knowing he was still alive by having him close.

She sets him down on the bed and pulled the cover over him, tucking him in much like she would do when he was younger. After making sure Lif was comfortable, she settled herself on the other bed, sagging into it like a puppet with its string cut.

Now what to do.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I JUST REALIZED HOW YOUNG KIRITO WAS WHEN SAO STARTED. 
> 
> I mean as an adult now myself, I couldn't help but look at SAO in different light now. Like how young 14 is. I know teenagers are capable of handling themselves mostly and this fic is not about me creating an OP character, or two in this case. This is just me trying to make it from the perspective of hopefully a mature adult (aka Ainul). So there may be some shameless fix it as I merge SAOIF with canon anime.

It had been months ever since they were trapped in this game and Ainul had pushed herself beyond her limit, perfecting the way to wield the battle axe she had chosen as her weapon. Every night, after tucking Lif into the bed, she would venture into the plain to slay some monsters and level up. The feverish need to get Lif out of this game driving her forward.

Sure Lif would grumble and sulk about her surpassing him despite him being a beta tester but he would soon cheer up whenever Ainul caved into his demands to accompany him on smaller quests. If he noticed Ainul’s inherent need to keep at least five level differences between them, he didn’t say anything so far.

That was the only reason why Ainul had given into Lif’s demand to do quests. As long as she out level any possible threat that Lif could face during his quests, she could sleep easier at night.

Sure they had ventured beyond the town of beginning but now they neared the end of Floor 1 and Ainul herself having been personally approached by the Assault squad leader to fill in for tank position. Being at level 19 while still being on Floor 1 gives her an edge over other players and Diavel wanted her proficiency as a tank for the boss raid he had planned.

Diavel had immediately cornered her the moment she stepped feet into Central Tolbana town and the man hadn’t even waited for her to usher Lif somewhere before he started on his long speech about knights and liberation. She knew he had been eyeing Lif too, his level of 12 being higher than most would expect from a kid his age but Ainul had set her feet down before the blue haired man could even open his mouth and ask.

The only condition of her joining the raid was for Lif to stay out of it. The man was obviously displeased at missing out on another potential strong fighter but Ainul would never let him have Lif, not when she was not sure what would await in the first boss room.

And now here they are now, sitting in the quaint inn room they had rented for the duration of their stay. They had argued over it, an argument that had been long coming ever since Ainul had first wanted for Lif to also stay back in the Town of Beginning when they first started this new life of theirs. If it haven’t been for Klein stepping in at that time to settle it for them the first time around, they could have been going at it for hours.

So they had compromised on letting Ainul scout out the terrain ahead first before bringing Lif with her the second time around. Her brother had obviously been unhappy over it but the boy had reluctantly agreed as long as he can do smaller quests.

But there was no Klein to stop them this time and the two of them had been going at it for hours until Ainul finally snapped and lashed out with cutting words.

With the way Lif had shuttered himself off, Ainul might have as well have slapped in the face herself.

Ainul never raised her voice at her brother before. Sure they often screamed insult at each other during gaming session, much to their parents’ chagrin, but she would never do it intentionally and Lif had always been a good boy. His obsession for game notwithstanding.

So it stand to reason that the two of them fell into silence after the shock of Ainul raising her voice toward Lif finally wore off.

The rising anger that she haven’t noticed before began to recede back and settled into the cold pit of her stomach. Ainul sagged back into her seat, pinching the bridge of her nose out of habit more than the need to alleviate the headache that was not there. It was one of tick for when she would be trying to calm herself down from bouts of anger and Lif definitely noticed it too, if the way he shrunk into his own seat was anything to go by.

They both sat in silence, unsure where to start now that the previously high strung argument between them was interrupted by Ainul’s shouting.

The words still rang in the air, echoing in their ears.

“I don’t want you to die” Ainul repeated what she had said before, though her voice was much softer than the shout it had been.

She looked at Lif, searching his eyes for any shred of understanding because she needed him to understand why she decided to do this. But there was only hurt in his eyes, and fear, the same fear that haven’t left his eyes ever since he woke up.

Ainul felt a stab of guilt for causing him such grief but this was for the best.

She needed to do this.

She have to if she wants to let Lif out from this death game.

She had agreed to join Diavel to fight for their liberation from this hell hole. To fight in the frontline and clearing floor boss.

But Lif had wanted to join her too and Ainul can’t have that. She doesn’t want to be one of the unfortunate people who have to see the people they cared for shatter right in front of their eyes. She can’t live with herself if she lost her brother to this game.

“Please. Stay in this town for now.” Ainul sank to her knee in front of Lif’s chair and hold onto his trembling hands tightly.

“I promise I will come back for you.” Reaching up with one hand, Ainul wiped away his tears, caressing his cheek softly in comfort.

“Stay here until I’m strong enough to protect you on my own.”

Lif finally broke down into soft sobs and Ainul gives into the urge to pull him into a tight hug. They held onto each other, Ainul shedding a couple of tears herself because despite having agreed to fight in the raid, there was still the doubt hounding her.

What if she wasn’t as strong as she believed? What if the boss outleveled her? What would happen to Lif if she died?

“But I’m strong too. I want to protect you too.” Lif’s words jarred her away from her dwindling thoughts and she could only smile weakly into his dark’s hair. Oh how precious her little brother can be at time. Sure, he had been trying to act cooler ever since he entered middle school but to Ainul, Lif will always be that cute baby she had held in her arms when she was nine.

“I know you are Lif but please, just for the boss battle, stay in this town. I can have Klein look out for you while I’m away.” It was surprising that the spirited man wouldn’t be joining the boss raid but it was also understandable. Not many would be brave certain danger when death sentence hung over their head like executioner’s blade. Besides, Klein was also responsible for the lives of his friends too as Guild Leader. She understands his need to not drag his weaker teammates into battle with a boss because she too doesn’t want Lif anywhere near the boss floor anytime soon.

Tomorrow will be the first meeting for the raid and she could only hope she find some good players to party up with.

Other than Klein, she didn’t have the time to befriend anyone else, too busy with worrying over Lif to even bother with anything else. Sure, there had been the occasional acquaintances she had made during her solo venture but she hadn’t put the effort to keep contact with them, mind focused solely on levelling up so that she could better protect Lif.

But there had been that boy, Klein’s friend who she had met during That Day, Kiri-something.

She had encountered him a couple of time while doing quests and they had exchanged some info that Argo haven’t gotten her hands on yet. While not as close to him like she was to Klein, she knew he was someone who she can depend on to have her back.

His advanced level and skill hinted him to also being a beta tester like Lif but Ainul never brought it up with him, noticing the simmering tension that had risen whenever other players started to blame the beta testers for not doing more with the foresight info they had gained during the beta phase of the game.

Ainul had sworn Klein to secrecy, even going as far as to threaten him to not reveal Lif’s status as a beta tester. But the redhead didn’t need any more convincing to keep his lips sealed, swearing on his life and honour that he would never betray them. It was only thanks to his physical appearance that people didn’t suspect him to be a beta too, obviously not linking the short kid her brother was with the image of an experienced beta tester.

Though the suspicion of the people soon fell on her. She had noticed the wary look other players kept on throwing at her whenever they saw her fight, the ease of her taking down monsters on her own.

Thank God the knowledge of how to see other player’s level was still not a common thing because Ainul doesn’t doubt they would have been clamouring all over her with how fast she had levelled up in the past months.

However Kirito’s level had been higher than hers, around 21 the last time she had seen him a couple of weeks ago. But knowing him, he would have levelled up further than that.

The boy looked barely older than Lif and Ainul couldn’t help but be worried for him. He looked young, way too young to be on his own and going solo. Being a beta tester doesn’t give him a free pass to be reckless and she hoped that he would at least take on someone to partner with.

Ainul had offered to party up with him but the boy had been reluctant, having his own reason as to why he didn’t want to accept the offer but he had conceded on accepting her friend request instead.

She couldn’t ask for more and had taken to regularly checking on his name in her short list of friend, making sure that it was still bold and bright instead of fading out like the name of those who had died.

Ainul doesn’t doubt for one second that Lif would be protesting about her denying his participation in boss raid in the future if Kirito decided to join this one. Their close age and status as beta tester being two of the major point he would use to argue his case with her again.

It was not an argument she would be looking forward to.

“Just this once Lif, please.” Ainul nearly begged because she doesn’t think she would be able to give the raid her best if she have to worry for her brother constantly during it. They both have no idea what would await them and Ainul really doesn’t want to think what could happen if Lif had joined the battle too.

Lif pulled away from her arms and Ainul reluctantly let him go so that their eyes can meet. They both shared their mother’s eyes, a soft brown that glowed gold in the light.

“Okay. Fine” Lif finally gives in, shoulders sagging into a defeated posture and the victory was bittersweet. Sure she was happy that he agreed to stay put for this particular battle but she doesn’t like the way she have to make him so sad in order to make him agree.

“But promise you will come back safe.” He held out his fist at her and Ainul could only let out a watery laugh as she bumped her fist with him and wiggled her fingers at him as their fists parted. It was a watered down version of their secret handshake but Ainul had missed this. She missed the good old days where they have nothing to worry about, where there was no death game of a mad man to complete.

“I will. You know I will.” Neither of them voiced the lack of certainty that she will return from the boss fight but neither wanted to ruin this rare light-hearted moment by mentioning it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ainul will not stand for what is essentially the entire game community bullying and persecuting a kind for something that was not even his fault. So she will not let Kirito shoulder the blame and title of Beater. Opps spoiler. 
> 
> But honestly though, I know most of you would be miffed at me for sidelining Kirito and making him appear weak but well, there's common sense and adult supervision watching out for him to make sure he didn't bit off more than he can chew.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing Asuna

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we're finally gonna start facing the 1st boss soon but I need to introduce Asuna first and laying down how Kirito is involved with this siblings

The coliseum was filled to the brim with people, much like the town square of Central Tolbana. Many players had taken to flocking the end town when words of finally clearing Floor 1 began to spread about a month ago but so far, none had managed to do it. The death toll only increased when many party went into the labyrinth unprepared.

By an unspoken agreement, the lead players had decided to gather together for a strategy meeting before launching a full scale raid on the Boss.

Ainul immediately felt many eyes on her when she stepped into the gathering place but she ignored it in favour of looking around for any familiar face. So far, only male faces stared back at her in the crowd and Ainul can already see the sexism issue she would soon face. It would not be the first time people would look down at her for simply being a female in a supposedly ‘male game’.

If only she had thought about wearing a cloak instead.

It would have been better to go unnoticed than having this instant condescension directed at her.

But before she could step away to some secluded place to put on a cloak, Diavel had seen her first.

“Lunia!” He shouted out her player ID, attracting the attention of many because of course he would. Now many more were looking at her, curious on why would the leader of this raid would call out to a lone player like her.

The blue haired man jogged toward her, face bright with happiness and Ainul only raised an awkward hand in greeting. She would seriously appreciate if the eyes would leave her or for this man to stop dragging her into the limelight. Ainul doesn’t need people looking too closely at her and notice her level after all.

She was merely here to throw her gauntlet with the lot. She was here to clear the game, not gain recognition for it.

“I’m glad you could join us!” Exclaimed the man as he stopped in front of her, lips stretched into a grin.

“Well someone would have chattered my ears off otherwise.” She replied, reminding him of their last encounter where Diavel had went on his passionate recruiting spiel. Diavel laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head at her subtle accusation. Good. At least he have the decency to be sheepish about the way he acted previously.

“But it got you to join right?” The grin came back full force and Ainul resisted the urge to deck this man in his pretty face. Oh the nerve of this man! The sheer cheek irritate her so much right now. She takes back whatever good thing she ever thought about him.

Diavel must have noticed her rising ire because the man backed off before Ainul decided to break his nose (She wonders if that was possible in the game. She might just test it out on him to see the result).

“Anyway. I gladly welcome you today Lunia. Having you here would undoubtedly bolster our rank.” His words mere genuine this time instead of the teasing it had been and Lunia calmed down to match it.

“It is about time we break through to second floor after all. If me being here would help us clear this game faster, well I am glad to be here too.” Ainul held out her hand for a handshake because despite her previous irritation toward Diavel, the man was still the leader of this raid after all.

Diavel grinned yet again as he shook her hand and Ainul couldn’t resist poking fun back at him for his earlier teasing.

“Though I think Sir Knight like you plays a bigger role than me, Leader-san.” Ainul doesn’t know the exact nationality of the man but she make the safe bet of using Japanese suffix since the majority of gaming community had taken up the Japanese custom since most of the top games came from that country. SAO being created by a Japanese man being one of the reason for it.

And sure enough, Diavel flushed at her teasing. It would be a long time before she let him forget about that one time he called himself a knight while trying to recruit her. SAO doesn’t have a specific class system like other MMORPG but there were still some people like Diavel who went around calling themselves a knight or samurai.

“Now, that’s not fair Lunia.” The way he whined and pouted, which reminded her so much of her thirteen years old brother that she couldn’t help but laugh at him.

Ainul corralled up her laughter, settling for a smirk.

“Whatever you say Diavel. I thought you have conference to lead. So, shoo.” She reminded him of his responsibility.

“This is not over yet.” He tried to say it with all authority he have but Ainul can’t take him seriously after seeing this supposed to be adult man pouting like her kid of a brother.

“Yes. Yes.” She waved him off and the man walked away, grumbling as he went.

Now that was done, Ainul looked around for a seat and spotted a familiar face high up the stand.

Ainul climbed the stairs, the weight of the axe on her back a comforting pressure as she approached the boy she haven’t seen for a while now.

“Yo, Kirito.” She greeted him when there was only a couple of feet between them.

The dark haired boy looked up, obviously dismissing whatever he had been mulling over when their eyes met.

“Lunia.” He looked surprised, whether by her presence here or about her talking to him. Honestly this boy. Even her awkward best friend Stevie hadn’t been this socially inept. At least Lif hadn’t been as bad as him with how her brother had cooped up with his game.

“Finally decided to show off your hard work?” She needled him playfully as she plopped down beside him gracelessly. Kirito flushed and looked down at his feet.

Cute.

But Ainul was not here to make him uncomfortable.

“But seriously though. It’s relieving to have you here. Say want to party?” She offered instead because Ainul had made it her self-imposed mission to get the younger boy to party up with her whenever she can.

Kirito looked puzzled and his eyes kept on looking at her side, as if looking for someone. And Ainul knew just who he was looking for.

“I managed to get him babysat by Klein.” Ainul smiled at the awkward flush that rose to the boy’s cheek at being caught but didn’t comment about it.

Both Lif and Kirito had hit it off since the first day, having crossed path during the beta phase of the game. Ainul was not nosy enough to butt into their conversation, but she knew those two have kept in constant touch if the way Lif kept on looking at his message box was anything to go by.

They were good friend and Ainul was glad for them. These kids need more friends they can depend on, especially Kirito who had been going solo since day one.

If it were up to Ainul, she would have strong-armed Kirito into joining their party permanently but she doesn’t want for the younger boy to resent her for it. Better to keep a close eye on him whenever she can than having him actively avoiding her.

“But I doubt he would stay away from the next boss battle if he knew you joined this one.”

That elicited a laugh from the boy.

“Well it is a miracle already that you managed to get him to agree in the first place.”

“True and I would have you with him too if I don’t know it would only lead to both of you popping up in the boss battle instead.”

This time Kirito grinned unrepentantly, much like how Lif would when her brother was up to mischief.

Dear God.

The troubles these two would get into if Ainul hadn’t been around to keep them out of it. She knew the two of them strive in this world, swinging their weapon of choice with so much vigour that Ainul began to doubt they would survive without it. There were moments when she wondered if the two boys would rather live in this game forever than returning to reality.

Pushing away that particular train of thought, Ainul reached out to ruffle the black hair of the much shorter boy, who wailed in dismay over it.

“Lunia!”

“No telling Lif until this battle end first. It was hard enough to get him to agree the first time around.”

Ainul flicked on the menu system and went to the friend list. She easily finds Kirito’s name in the sparse amount it contained and sent a party invite to the boy. Lif’s player ID of Franco was a permanent fixture to her party and Ainul would never remove him from it. It was another safety measure that Ainul had taken so she could keep an eye on him. The ability to see his HP gauge soothed the knot of worry in her gut. At least having Lif in her party would let her to share the EXP and items she gained with him.

Kirito moved to accept the invite and true to her prediction, the boy had levelled up a couple of level since the last time they met. The number 25 burned her eyes and Ainul glared at the challenging grin that spread on his lips. Just because she was not a grinding nuts like Kirito, doesn’t mean it didn’t burn to have someone younger excel so much.

“Oh you smug brat.” Trapping the boy in a headlock, Ainul gave his head a playful noogie, feeling viciously satisfied at his yelp of mortification.

“Come on Lunia! Let go!” The boy batted at her arms but didn’t fight her seriously enough to free himself. So Lunia just resorted to messing up his hair all the more. Before she could turn this into a tickle fest, Kirito managed to free himself from her clutch and Lunia let the boy scoot away with her own smug smirk. His black hair were in disarray and his pout was petulant but the heaviness that had been on his shoulders were gone and his eyes looked brighter than before.

Good.

She can’t have him fighting without the wish to at least survive tomorrow.

“By the way, is that a friend of yours?”

Ainul jerked her thumb toward the hooded person to Kirito’s left and the boy followed the line of her finger. The crease of his brows indicated he was not in fact friend with whomever this person was but looking around, Ainul could see that they were not with anyone else in the coliseum too.

“No.”

“Well, let’s invite them to party since it’s obvious they’re solo too like a certain someone” She couldn’t resist jabbing at him and Kirito harrumphed indignantly in response.

“I can take care of myself, thank you very much.”

“Whatever let you sleep at night Kirito.”

Kirito let her pass by him to get to the hooded person and she took a seat beside them, close enough to have a talk with them but not too close that she would be breaching their space.

“Hey, name’s Lunia. Me and my friend over there are wondering if you want to party with us. The more the safer after all.” She started.

The hooded person looked at her for some time before nodding curtly, mouth pressed tight together.

“Thanks! I’m glad you agreed!”

Quickly opening the menu before the person could change their mind, Ainul sent them an invite, which was promptly accepted. She looked to the side where the names of her party members was shown and tried to read her name. Good thing the game comes with Auto Translation function to remove the language boundary, otherwise she wouldn’t even be able to communicate with the majority of other nationality players.

“Nice to meet you Asuna!”

The person flinched, as if surprised by her calling them with the name and Ainul couldn’t help but pick up on that. Of course they would be wary since they haven’t told her their name at all. But Ainul chooses to defuse the situation before it could escalate into anything.

“You can see our names if you look hard enough to the left side. There should be a panel somewhere around here.” Ainul pointed at the general area of Asuna’s left and the person’s lips moved to read the names.

Ainul waited for them patiently because it was obvious to her this person haven’t been interacting with people for some time now and she suspected it was ever since this whole nightmare began. She briefly wondered if Kirito would have ended up like this too if she had left him to his own device.

Finally, the person looked back at her and reached up to remove the hood and oh-it was a she!- she smiled back at Ainul shyly.

“Nice to meet you.” The girl looked young, around the same age as Kirito and Ainul felt a brief moment of anger toward Kayaba for ruining these kids’ life. But she curbed it before it could make its way to her face.

Well it looks like she have another brat to look out for, if she decided to hang around that is. Besides, if she was anything like Kirito with her solo act, Ainul was very much sure she have to keep a close eye on her like she did with Kirito too.

Can’t have these kids run themselves to the ground after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence and third is pattern. Ainul is totally gathering her own army of kiddies here. She, Klein and Agil will be the responsible adult who will make sure these kids don't burn themselves out.

**Author's Note:**

> So I hope you liked it! Leave a review on the way out.


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